


Tupelo

by shewasjustagirl



Series: The Nashville Sound [3]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Emotional Infidelity, F/M, Infidelity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 12:03:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13457874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewasjustagirl/pseuds/shewasjustagirl
Summary: Inspired by the song Tupelo by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit





	Tupelo

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: Not every fic in this series (if any?) will be like the story in the song. They're inspired by the lyrics and mood and feel of the songs.
> 
> I highly encourage checking out the album The Nashville Sound.

_We’re just friends._

Rhett sneered. She had lied, right to his face, and against his better judgment, he’d believed her.

What a fool he’d been.

As he leaned harder on the gas pedal, he didn’t know or care exactly where he would end up. He could sleep in the car. The pressurized air from the rolled-down window tore at him as he sped faster, the highway to the desert nearly empty at this time of night. 

The high, wide desert sky, the dry air, the near-total darkness, opened up more space in his lungs. It all made him feel as though he had enough room, enough to throw a fit or scream or take off running. Enough room to be alone. To think. That's what he needed tonight.

His passengers were an iPhone he’d tossed in the car ahead of him and a six-pack of beer he’d grabbed hastily as he finished his whispered-scream fight with Jessie on his way to the door. 

The phone lit up, buzzing against the car’s leather seat, and he ignored it. He didn’t want to talk to her. Neither of them would say anything productive, not tonight. It’s not true, what they say. You _should_ go to bed angry. Sleep is calming. Healing. Staying up all night yelling just makes for two angry, sleep-deprived people in the morning. 

His phone lit up again, and as he kept his gaze on the road, watching the reflective stripes fly by, he considered sending the phone out the window to join them. He couldn’t speak to her right now.

This was on her. She’d done wrong. And she’d been cruel.

“You’re welcome.” That’s what she said. 

As though she truly believed he should be thanking her for what she’d done. For getting caught first. For falling for one of her best friends without catching herself. For giving him an out. 

He never thought it would be like this. They both knew that if ever he forecasted their end, he imagined it would involve him vowing, and lying, that his extra-marital relationship was one between two people who were _just friends._

It wasn’t supposed to be her. She was the perfect wife. Beautiful. Supportive. She stayed home with the kids and put off her dreams in favor of his. She made it possible for him to live the life he’d always wanted. Standing proudly between them, Jessie on one side and Link on the other. 

There had been some close calls, but he had been faithful. Despite the fact that he and Link would never _just_ be friends. Despite decades of longing. Despite everything. 

She knew the truth. He’d told her everything. He had bared his soul, and she promised to love him anyway. And then, tonight, she threw it in his face. 

The phone rang a third time, and he grabbed for it, intent on flinging it through the window. 

But his fingers must have seen the name on its face, because he found himself answering, whimpering into the phone. “Link? Did she call you?”

“She did, man. Pull over, okay? Slow down.”

Rhett did, turning on his hazard lights as the vehicle slowed to a stop in the shoulder. “I don’t think I can talk about this right now,” Rhett sighed, allowing his body to slow as the mechanics in the car slowly settled and only the clicking of the flashing lights remained. 

“You don’t have to say anything.” Link’s voice was low, and Rhett could picture it clearly. Somewhere, in a secluded corner of his home, Link was on the phone, hoping not to be overheard by any of the house’s four other sets of ears.

“I’m not acting crazy. I’m just driving. You don’t have to stay up worrying about me.”

Link chuckled softly, “You know I’m gonna.”

For a moment there was dead air on the line, the two men simply breathing, each waiting on the other to get what he needed from the silence. 

“Hey Link?”

“Yeah?”

“I thought if this ever happened, if someone ever messed up this bad,” Rhett began. But he didn’t have to say it. 

“I know. Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love any feedback! Your comments and kudos would be very much appreciated! <3
> 
> And come find me on Tumblr as [clemwasjustagirl](http://clemwasjustagirl.tumblr.com/) if you're into that kind of thing. (Hit me up if you want to fangirl over Jason Isbell!)


End file.
